Creekside Chatter

John, this is Chaplain Smith, the ICU Chaplain. I'm here with MaryAnn of Soldiers' Angels. She asked me to visit before you go home tomorrow.

I'm looking at a family photo your wife Jane sent her to print out and keep at your side. I'm sure you know it; it's the one where the baby is wearing the yellow sun hat...

I want to remind you that you are in the Intensive Care Unit at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

You have your own nurse who is with you at all times, either in your room or sitting right at the door. While you are here you are never alone...

Today is Saturday, January 10th. Well, I guess it's January 11th now.

You're going home tomorrow.

The Critical Care Air Transport Team will come to get you ready for the flight early in the morning. That will take about 2 hours.

Afterwards, they will take you on the bus to the aircraft at Ramstein Air Base - just like when you came here. You will have your own doctor, nurse, and respiratory therapist taking care of you the whole time.

When you arrive in the US, you'll be going to Walter Reed Medical Center, again by bus. Your wife Jane and the rest of the family are waiting for you there.

They have been praying for you; you are on many prayer lists.

And now we, too, would like to pray for you...

The ObamaCare bill may not contain “death panels,” but even Charles Lane and Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post wonder why the bill incentivizes end-of-life consultations with the elderly and ill as part of its cost-containment strategy.  Maybe Lane and Robinson should take a look at the VA, where the Obama administration and former General Eric Shinseki have reinstated a program called “Your Life, Your Choices.”  The Wall Street Journal reports that this program amounts to a high-pressure sales pitch for refusal of treatment for veterans:

“Your Life, Your Choices” presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions, much like a political “push poll.” For example, a worksheet on page 21 lists various scenarios and asks users to then decide whether their own life would be “not worth living.”

Yes, it is truly despicable.

19 August 2009
Helmand Province, Afghanistan

A gunshot ripped through the darkness and a young British soldier fell dying on FOB Jackson.  I was just nearby talking on the satellite phone and saw the commotion.  The soldier was taken to the medical tent and a helicopter lifted him to the excellent trauma center at Camp Bastion.  That he made it to Camp Bastion alive dramatically improved his chances.  But his life teetered and was in danger of slipping away.  Making matters worse, the British medical system back in the United Kingdom did not possess the specialized gear needed to save his life.  Americans had the right gear in Germany, and so the British soldier was put into the American system.

British officers in his unit, 2 Rifles, wanted to track their man every step of the way, and to ensure that his family was informed and supported in this time of high stress.  Yet having their soldier suddenly in the American system caused a temporary glitch in communications with folks in Germany.  The British leadership in Sangin could have worked through the glitch within some hours, but that would have been hours wasted, and they wanted to know the status of their soldier now.  So a British officer in Sangin – thinking creatively –asked if I knew any shortcuts to open communications.  The right people were only an email away: Soldiers Angels.  And so within about two minutes, these fingers typed an email with this subject heading: CALLING ALL ANGELS.

Soldiers’ Angels Shelle Michaels and MaryAnn Phillips moved into action.  Day by day British officers mentioned how Soldiers Angels were proving to be incredibly helpful.  The soldiers expressed deep and sincere appreciation.  Yet again, the Angels arrived during a time of need.

Soldiers' Angels is an amazing organization. You can help by adopting a Soldier (Sailor, Marine or Airman) serving in a war zone and send letters, cards, emails and goodies to let him/her know someone back home cares. Soldiers' Angels also serves as an umbrella organization supporting many smaller efforts - not the least of which is a group of volunteers in Germany providing support for our wounded and their families while they are there. Learn more about this divine group at http://www.soldiersangels.org.

It may be the biggest archaeological discovery to date, but it is also the most dangerous. In an adventure story rivaling an Indiana Jones movie, Bob Cornuke and Larry Williams snuck into Saudi Arabia to investigate whether the Wahhabist home of Mecca and Medina is also home to one of the holiest sites in Judaism and Christianity: Mt. Sinai.

Fascinating article - can't wait for the documentaries and books!

The Pen May Be Mightier Than The Sword But A Pump Shotgun Trumps Fine Architecture

Who can argue with that?

Circa 1880s-1890s. "The old French Market, New Orleans." Photo by William Henry Jackson. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.

The comments on this article are fascinating. Take a look at it full size to get all the details.

Whole Foods co-founder and CEO has a must-read op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal outlining eight market friendly health care reforms including:

• Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).
• Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits.
• Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.
• Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.
• Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
• Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost.
• Enact Medicare reform.
• Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren’t covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

There are lots of good ideas out there. Why are we discussing them all?

Among those clamoring for attention and payouts from Motors Liquidation Co., the company that assumed General Motors' unwanted assets after its Chapter 11 filing, are the environmental and economic redevelopment departments of state governments. According to reports, when GM exited bankruptcy, its polluted factory and land sites were consumed by the Motor Liquidation, allowing the automaker to avoid the responsibility of cleaning up its mess, and state leaders fear there won't be any money to clean the locations.

Before bankruptcy, GM estimated it had $1.9 billion in environmental issues and litigation liabilites. Motors Liquidation Co., though, has only about $1.2 billion to manage the entire wind-down of its affairs -- and as one might expect, attorneys handling the matter are expected to get a huge chunk of that. The figure to clean up sites in places like Buick City (pictured, before the buildings were demolished), Michigan and Massena, New York has been pegged at $530 million. However, the way it's looking, there won't be anywhere near that much money to get the job done.

The affected areas are afraid they will have to pay for the clean ups or simply let the land go unused. The problem with that: those local governments don't have the money. And they can't expect a developer to spend millions to clean up an old mess. If not Motors Liquidation or GM, civic representatives want the government to foot the bill since the current administration orchestrated the deal. No one knows how it will -- or won't -- be resolved, but the EPA has said that it's in touch with states and Motors Liquidation to "identify any environmental cleanup requirements that existed at the time of bankruptcy."